Nurses are being urged to focus on compassionate care, amid concerns that some patients are not receiving the level of treatment to which they are entitled.

Under a new three-year strategy, Compassion in Practice, recruitment, appraisal and training of staff will be based on values as well as technical skill.

Jane Cummings, the chief nursing officer for England, will make a speech in Manchester on Tuesday describing poor care as a "betrayal" of nursing and other related professions.

"While the health, care and support system provides a good – often excellent – service, this is not universal," she will say. "There is poor care, sometimes very poor. Such poor care is a betrayal of what we all stand for.

"The actions we are setting out – developed with nurses, midwives and care staff – can change the way we work, transform the care of our patients and ensure we deliver a culture of compassionate care."

Cummings told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that being a nurse or midwife was "emotionally draining" and that the strategy was about "making sure that the support that nurses get is there to enable them to give the best care possible".

The launch of the strategy comes after a series of reports outlining concerns over poor care in the NHS, including failures to provide clean and comfortable surroundings for patients and help with eating and drinking.

Highlighting recent cases at Winterbourne View, where staff abused residents, and Stafford hospital, where hundreds of patients died after inadequate treatment, the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, said last week there was a "crisis in standards of care" in some hospitals and care homes.

Commenting on the strategy, Hunt said ensuring patients got the best possible care was a priority for the government. "We want to do all we can to support those who care for patients, and this new vision will help us do that," he said. "Nurses, midwives and care staff have one of the most demanding and sensitive roles in the NHS and social care, and they command our respect and support."

Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, welcomed the strategy: "It is important to recognise that the vast majority of nurses are conscientious and caring while working under intense pressure. But instances where care falls below acceptable standards have become too commonplace and the CNO is right to refocus the nursing profession in this way.

"It is far too convenient, however, for politicians to lay all the blame at the door of the staff; we have questions to answer too. We need to do more to cut unnecessary paperwork and ensure there are enough staff to provide safe care on the NHS frontline."

Mike Farrar, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: "We know that many organisations are doing great work to make sure their care meet the standards patients rightly expect and deserve. But we have not cracked the nut. We continue to hear too many stories of patients being let down at the very moment they need care and compassion. We need to reassure the public that we are working hard to build a compassionate culture right throughout the health service."